
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss a PC repair battle, a revealing comment from an FBI official, and a dangerously dumb narrative.
EMANUEL: I want to update those who have been following the 404 Media sidequest “Emanuel’s CPU is dying.” The update is that I basically got a new PC. I kept my GPU (4080 Super), my CPU cooler, and storage, and upgraded everything else, including the case, because I bought the old one in the era before GPUs were more than a foot long.
Platforms include YouTube, TikTok and Instagram as communication minister says âour children face real threatsâ
Indonesia will ban social media for children under 16, its communication and digital affairs minister said on Friday.
Meutya Hafid said in a statement to media said that she signed a government regulation that will mean children under the age of 16 can no longer have accounts on high-risk digital platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Roblox and Bigo Live, a popular livestreaming site. With a population of about 285 million, the fourth-highest in the world, the south-east Asian nation represents a significant market for social networks.
Continue reading...Top flight directors discuss holding in penalty area
Set pieces account for 27.1% of Premier League goals
The Premier Leagueâs sporting directors have held talks about the ubiquity of set-piece goals and holding in the penalty area, amid concerns these trends are damaging the spectacle.
Liverpoolâs head coach, Arne Slot, said this week that his âfootball heart doesnât like itâ, when asked about the growing importance of set pieces, which have been responsible for 27.1% of Premier League goals this season, excluding penalties.
Continue reading...Unbeaten rivals collide at Tokyo Dome on 2 May
Inoue defends undisputed super-bantamweight crown
Nakatani says he must be âat my bestâ to win
Japanâs Naoya Inoue said Friday that he will need to be at his destructive best when he faces unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani in their highly anticipated showdown at Tokyo Dome in May.
The two fighters met in Tokyo to formally confirm their 2 May clash, with Inoue set to defend his undisputed super bantamweight world championship against Nakatani, who is moving up in weight in pursuit of a fourth divisional title.
Continue reading...Murrayfield as underdogs is a scenario Scotland like, and a third successive win would set up perfect Six Nations finale
The mischievous will have eyes on Rome on Saturday in case of a historic win but the game of the weekend is in Edinburgh. Second versus first, Scotland versus France, entertainers versus entertainers. The title on the line. We could even have a champion by the end of it.
If France win with a bonus point, that is it. The 2026 Six Nations will be theirs with a round to spare. One feels there will be tries in this game, so the prospect is real. Which would reduce the championshipâs beloved set piece of Super Saturday to an exercise in ordering the also-rans and seeing if France can move ahead of Wales as the Six Nationsâ most prolific purveyor of grand slams, with a fifth.
Continue reading...Donor who has given ÂŁ12m to Reform UK had previously wanted Nigel Farage to keep open mind about deal with Conservatives
Christopher Harborne, the ultra-wealthy political donor who has given ÂŁ12m to Reform UK, has told the Guardian he is âno longerâ interested in a Reform-Conservative pact before the next general election.
A possible collaboration between Reform and the Conservative party had been an important aspect of discussions about donations between Harborne and senior figures including Nigel Farage, sources familiar with the conversations said.
Continue reading...Actor penned scathing essay for the New York Times, criticising showâs portrayal of her and sharing sheâs received âthreateningâ messages since it aired
Daryl Hannah has attacked Ryan Murphyâs smash hit TV series Love Story in an essay for the New York Times.
The much-watched drama, which tells of the romance between John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette, features Hannah as a character, played by Dree Hemingway. Hannah and JFK Jr were in a relationship in the early 1990s.
Continue reading...
raaen99 has added a photo to the pool:
âHis own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan. To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg.â
â The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
The theme for "Smile on Saturday" for the 7th of March is "birds". Now you might feel that this is a nice and easy theme, which it is, but not for me. This is because I do not tend to photograph birds because I am usually too slow to catch them. Luckily, in my archives I have about a dozen photos of a bird I did manage to catch 'neath my lens. My friend and I were on a walk down along Brighton Beach when we came across a few beautiful Black Swans. This rather proud looking specimen is a male swan. Fortunately for me, he was in no hurry to move as he stood along the water's edge, and I managed to get a couple of photos of him. I hope you like my choice for this week's theme, and that it makes you smile!
In adult Black Swans the body is mostly black, with the exception of the broad white wing tips which are visible in flight. The bill is a deep orange-red, paler at the tip, with a distinct narrow white band towards the end. Younger birds are much greyer in colour, and have black wing tips. Adult females are smaller than the males. Black Swans prefer larger salt, brackish or fresh waterways and permanent wetlands, requiring 40 m or more of clear water to take off. Outside the breeding season, Black Swans travel quite large distances. Birds fly at night and rest during the day with other swans. Black Swans are found throughout Australia with the exception of Cape York Peninsula, and are more common in the south. The Black Swan is a vegetarian. Food consists of algae and weeds, which the bird obtains by plunging its long neck into water up to one metre deep. Occasionally birds will graze on land, but they are clumsy walkers. Black Swans form isolated pairs or small colonies in shallow wetlands. They pair for life, with both adults raising one brood per season. Eggs are laid in an untidy nest made of reeds and grasses. The nest is placed either on a small island or floated in deeper water. The chicks (cygnets) are covered in grey down and are able to swim and feed themselves as soon as they hatch.
Before digital fonts and the ability to reproduce graphics on a large scale, there were sign painters. Today, printers can spit out countless posters and ads, but there was a time when hand-painted promotional signage was needed for retail windows, and business names were often rendered just the same. Of course, it’s a trade that virtually died out with the advent of new technologies, which made it cheaper and faster to produce public messaging. In the way of LPs and film cameras, though, just because there were new methods in daily use, it certainly doesn’t mean that the art form doesn’t live on.
A new book published by Letterform Archive, Lettres DĂ©coratives: A Century of French Sign Painters’ Alphabets, celebrates the vivacity and timelessness of French sign painting from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Compiled from lithograph portfolios, which range from 1875 to around 1932, the volume includes more than 150 full-color reproductions of these bold lettering samples. These portfolios once served as catalogue-like albums, providing inspiration for styles and motifs that could be translated onto large billboards and small signage alike.

While decorative painting had been around long before embellished lettering came into vogue, it took a while to catch on. “Only in the nineteenth century did painters make alphabets into primary decorative elements,” writes sign painter Morgane CĂŽme in the introduction. “Indeed even then, many of the letters painted on signboards, canvas awnings, and vehicles remained simple in form, following inherited models of Roman square capitals and modern variants used in printing type. The new demand for eye-catching signs called for significant change in perspective.”
Explore more in your own copy, which you can grab from the Colossal Shop.







Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article ‘Lettres DĂ©coratives’ Is a Celebration of Fin de SiĂšcle Sign Painters’ Vibrant Letterforms appeared first on Colossal.
DEN HAAG (ANP) - De afgelopen week was "exemplarisch" voor de zwakke positie die de Europese Unie heeft op het wereldtoneel, zei Rob Jetten. Het ging in zijn wekelijkse persconferentie over de uiteenlopende standpunten van EU-landen rond de oorlog in Iran. "Wil Europa de taal van de macht leren spreken en serieus meedoen op het wereldtoneel, dan zal ook op dit vlak de Europese samenwerking aanzienlijk moeten verbeteren."
De Spaanse premier Pedro SĂĄnchez is kritisch over de aanval van de VS, terwijl de Duitse bondskanselier Friedrich Merz in het Witte Huis zei: "Wij zijn het eens over het wegkrijgen van het vreselijke Iraanse regime."
Jetten: "In de snel veranderende geopolitieke wereldorde is het een gemis dat Europa er zo lang over doet om tot een gezamenlijk standpunt te komen." Na zijn kennismakingsbezoek met EU-kopstukken van afgelopen week concludeert hij: "Het is een worsteling die breed in Brussel wordt gevoeld."